Mayor Slay and County Executive Dooley will be introduced by Dick Fleming, President of the Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RGCA) to announce the establishment of the Robert J. Baer Scholarship at UMSL. UMSL Vice Chancellor Martin Leifeld will discuss the scholarship – and recognize incoming Metro President & CEO John Nations as an UMSL graduate with a degree in Public Administration.

Significance:

Robert J. Baer retired this week after almost three years of what was supposed to be a 90-day, interim term as President and CEO at Metro. Appointed as the permanent President and CEO, Baer is credited with restoring public confidence in the Agency, directing steps to put the agency on solid financial footing and to operate with financial responsibility, and helping lead the successful campaign to pass a half-cent sale-tax increase in St. Louis County last April that enabled Metro to restore service reductions and finance future expansions and new services.

The announcement will be made during John Nation’s first business meeting with the Metro Board of Commissioners.